Hellobee Boards

@sunny: It's too soon for obeying verbal commands (at least on a regular, reliable basis). Redirection (physical) is really your best option. Fwiw, I am right there with you! (my LO is also 14.5 months)

UGH. I wish I knew. My LO is only 11 months but her current favorite activity is dumping the dog's water bowl onto herself. Good times. If I catch her about to do it and say "no ma'am!" she smiles at me while she rushes to complete her mission!!

At that age, we just try to remove the object. We used to have a wall heater DD liked to play with, so we put up a gate so she couldn't reach it. We also had a gate going in to the kitchen, so she couldn't reach the dog food/water. Babyproof whatever you can!

E has just started listening to directions a little more at 17 months. If we tell her the fireplace is hot, she will yell hot and not go near it (even though we have to watch her still, of course). I just started letting her be more independent for a fun reason, like making cookies, she can pour the flour and watch the mixer but I say "no touch" and she nods her head and doesn't touch.

But like I said, this just started happening! Before, we just had to remove her from the area or remove the object.

Like others, I remove the object or remove LO. He loooves sticking his hands in his diaper pail, so if he doesn't listen when I say no, I either move the diaper pail out of his room or we leave his room.

Ugh, THIS! My LO will look at me, touch the item, and then shake his index finger at me. Nothing like being mocked by a 14-month old.

I think that kids that age aren't developmentally ready to follow rules to any real extent. Sure, some people have exceptions, but I think that it's mostly a lost cause at that age. And yeah, your kid may look at you with some kind of cheeky grin, but that's just because they're aware that you'll react to their action. They're not sitting there thinking, 'hey, I'm going to break the rules right now just to bug mom'.

I'm a firm believer in a childproofed home, or at least a very large childproofed area in your home where you spend most of your time. We just removed all hazards (very little, really), strapped bookcases to the wall, etc. This was far, far more worth it to me than power struggling over things she wasn't allowed to touch. I also wanted her to feel like this was her home, and that it wasn't full of things that weren't for her. Obviously the oven and such can't be removed, but you get my point.

@Tidybee: I swear toddlers have an innate ability to be attracted to the dirtiest thing around!!!!